Every month we take a look back at the best new releases from Northern Ireland in our featured playlist. A showcase for the sheer amount of talent coming out of the North, and a playlist worthy of repeat listening. This month’s cover artist is And So I Watch You From Afar. Words by Aaron Cunningham and Martha Greer.
And So I Watch You From Afar – Years Ago
‘Years Ago’ is the last single before the North Coast heavyweights release seventh album Megafauna on 9 August. There’s definite nods to the band’s early days in this one, approaching a mere twenty years ago, but amongst the call & response guitar playing this track reflects their more contemplative moments of later years. AC
Sister Ghost – Dark Matter
‘Dark Matter’ is the vigorous single taken from Derry based artist Sister Ghost’s debut album Beyond The Water. Written about the sadness queer people feel when hiding their true selves, the gripping pop rock track is dynamically solid and exists in a vibrant and celestial soundscape. MG
Darren Doherty – extraterrestrials
Strabane songwriter Darren Doherty just released new EP Darksides, the latest under his own name. ‘extraterrestrials’ follows on from lead single ‘Violence’, with its hopeful colour betraying the track’s beginnings from a songwriter “falling in love”. AC
Thom Southern – Future and Back
The gentle melancholy of Thom Southern’s ‘Future and Back’ is both comforting and jarring. Taken off his upcoming self-produced second album, the first of four singles is heavily reflective lyrically. Tender vocals and the reiterative guitar motif will have you returning to this track over and over. MG
Buí – Reset
Josh Healy and friends continue to quietly release their best work, with new four-track EP Stopping Distance recorded to cassette tape and arriving with little fanfare. The quiet relatability of Healy’s songwriting is Buí in a nutshell, brought forth on opening track ‘Reset’ by a looping piano arpeggio, bare guitars and the intimate, lo-fi recording. AC
Charlie Hanlon – Stand
Charlie Hanlon provides listeners with what could be his most personal release yet with ‘Stand’, a quote, unquote love letter to his hometown Downpatrick. The quirky instrumentation possesses a DIY style that is equally as polished and intentional. The single conveys an accessible story and shines a light on Charlie’s progression in sound. MG
The Cornerstones – I Got Mine
The indisputably catchy ‘I Got Mine’ is the second single this year from Belfast based four piece The Cornerstones, and what a delightful single it is. From its luscious harmonies, swinging guitar solo, and perfectly placed harmonica, the song fits together like pieces of a jigsaw and is bound to leave listeners shuffling back and forth. MG
Nathan O’Regan – Follow You Down
The second release from Nathan O’Regan’s covers of musical friends and influences, this is one of three tracks on this month’s playlist that Ciaran Lavery has had a hand in. ‘Follow You Down’ is the closing track from Lavery’s influential debut album, with O’Regan putting his own, more up-tempo spin on it. AC
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